


Gold not Silver

by SadlyYeehaws



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Adrien salt, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, And I mean a LOT, Andre won't stop playing Megolovania and Alec's going to fucking die, Antoinette likes when people ask her about her hobby, Badass Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Crying, Gen, Good Parents Sabine Cheng & Tom Dupain, Hypnotism, I created this on an impulse, Marinette Dupain-Cheng deserves better, Memory Alteration, My First Fanfic, Post-Episode: s03 Caméléon | Chameleon, Salt, Shelly hates It's a small world with a burning passion, Shelly swears a lot, There are a lot of of OC's in this story, Time Skips, Why?, You'll just have to wait, because i can't write akuma fights, but there's still crying, chameleon salt fic, don't count on an Adrien redemption, evantually, not a lot
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-17
Updated: 2019-10-06
Packaged: 2020-03-07 00:35:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 9,811
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18862156
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SadlyYeehaws/pseuds/SadlyYeehaws
Summary: It's been 13 days since Lila came back. Which means it's been 13 days since Marinette lost all her friends to a liar. The only person who believes her when she says that Lila's lying is her longtime crush Adrien Agreste, but he tells her to just let it happen because it's not like her lies are hurting anyone right? After an Akuma attacks the park near her bakery Marinette finds friends in two civilians. Will this be her chance to find help in proving Lila wrong and getting her friends back? Or will her luck finally run out?Updates every once in a blue moon, but I try to update once a month.





	1. In which Marinette makes new friends

**Author's Note:**

> Ok, so this is my first ever fanfic on AO3 and I'm super excited! Criticism is always welcomed as long as it's constructive.

**Year 1: May 11, 2019**

It was a normal day in Paris, the sound of cars and people talking filled the air as Marinette walked around the park near her home. It had been a relatively calm day so far and she, like many others she assumed, hoped it would stay that way. She had nothing to do that day other than design and work on her latest project, which she had come to an artistic block on. So, she went outside in hopes of gaining some inspiration. At this point fashion seemed to be her only escape, other than being Ladybug, from the utter _Hell_ her classmate Lila Rossi had made it.

It had been exactly 13 days since she had come back to school from her “Travels”. Marinette immediately knew what, excuse her language, _bullshit_ that was. Lila had then proceeded to trick all of her classmates into being her personal servants, well all except her, Adrien, and Chloe. But, the problem was that Adrien didn’t want to do anything about it from fear that they could get her akumatized, she wanted to say that _she_ had almost gotten akumatized but didn’t get the chance to, and Chloe hadn’t even been there at all so what could she do? Nothing, nothing until Chloe got back.

Marinette was snapped out of her thoughts by Tikki tugging on her leg. “Don’t worry Marinette! I’m sure that Adrien and the others will come around eventually!”

Marinette sighed. “I hope so Tikki. I just can’t stand liars, especially when they get involved in my _personal life._ ” Marinette hissed the last part of sentence out like it was a poison.

Tikki opened her mouth to say something but was interrupted by a scream nearby. Marinette froze up, immediately knowing what that signified. The person screaming got closer, thus making it easier to hear what they were saying- er _screaming_ . Marinette didn’t need it though, she already knew what it was. “AKUMA! EVERYBODY RUN!”. _So much for a peaceful day_ she thought, inwardly groaning. This was the fifth time this week for crying out loud!

Just as Marinette was getting up to find a place to transform an explosion of electricity blew up right next to her. She yelled in shock as she narrowly escaped from being shocked. Marinette looked around frantically for the Akuma before her eyes landed on a pair of civilians. She recognized them as two school aged kids around her age that went to the bakery often. One was a boy who had tan skin, ruffled red-brown hair, and a cowboy hat.The other was a girl who was alarmingly pale, wore a baseball cap, and was in a wheelchair. The girl was struggling to get off of the ground as the boy began frantically searching for the girl aforementioned wheelchair. Before she could process what she was doing Marinette had run up to the pair. “Are you to ok?” she asked.

“Could be better! Do you think you could help us out here? You see my friend Shelly was knocked out of her wheelchair by an explosion and now i can’t find it anywhere and I-” The boy stated frantically before being cut off by the girl, Shelly, on the ground.

“Less talking more searching dumbass!” Shelly yelled “The more you panic the more of a chance we have of dying!”

Marinette thought for a moment, searching for a way to help the two, before being struck by an idea. Without explaining she lifted up Shelly and put her into the boy’s arms. Before the two could say anything she explained “You think you can carry your friend out of here? If so I can distract the Akuma for you!”

The boy hesitated “But isn’t that extremely dangerous?”. “Yes it is, but you two need to get out of here now!”.

Shelly looked at her before looking back at the boy who was carrying her. A look of impatience flashed across her face. “Well? What the hell are you waiting for Alec? RUN YOU DUMBASS!” Shelly yelled angrily.

The boy, Alec his name was, took that as a sign to do and dashed off with Shelly in his arms. Marinette let out a breath she didn’t know she was holding. _Now that that’s over and done with I should probably get going_. She dashed away into an alleyway out of sight of the Akuma. Tikki flew out and, without hesitating, Marinette yelled “Tikki, Spots on!”

_~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~_

After that mess of an Akuma was finished Marinette trudged back to the park. If you took a shot everytime she almost got electrocuted you’d be dead before the battle reached its 5th minute. Marinette sighed and thought _Thank goodness that’s over. I don’t think i could stand another minute._ As Marinette sat back down on the bench she heard someone call out to her. “Hey excuse me Pigtail girl! Wait up!” Marinette turned her head to the direction the voice was coming from.

Alec was running up to her waving his hands in the air excitedly while Shelly rolled up next to him. Once he reached her he fell to his knees and panted out a “ _Good God I am never running from that distance again!_ ” Shelly, having heard this, rolled her eyes.

“Don’t mind Alec, he’s a dramatic idiot.” Shelly spoke nonchalantly and sighrd as Alec yelled an offended “HEY!”. “We wanted to thank you for saving us from that Akuma. It could have been very bad.”

Marinette was shocked for a moment, before stuttering out “W-Well it w-was the right thing to do a-after all!” Shelly laughed at her for a moment before sticking out her hand.

“I think we should introduce ourselves. I’m Shelly Vert and the dumbass on the ground is Alec Rubah.” Shelly gestured to Alec, who shot his head up to meet Marinette’s. He flashed a cheerful smile at her like he didn’t just hear Shelly call him a dumbass.

“Hi! It’s a pleasure to meet you!” He said, optimism lacing his words. Hearing this Marinette almost swore she would start crying. This was the first time in 13 days anyone spoke to her in an optimistic tone of voice.

“I’m Marinette Dupain-Cheng, it’s a pleasure to meet you too!” Marinette reached out to take Shelly’s hand. Alec got up and smiled at the two before realizing something.

“Dupain-Cheng? Like the bakery? Are your parents the owners or something?” Marinette hesitated for a moment before nodding. Alec’s face lit up and he yelled “Hell yeah! I’m friends with the daughter of the best bakers in Paris!”     Marinette paused for a second wondering if she had heard him right. “Friends?” she asked slowly, not wanting to get her hopes up.

Alec and Shelly looked at each other before Shelly said a-matter-of-factly “Yeah why not?”

Marinette smiled and felt like she was really going to start crying soon. Alec sat down next to her and rapped his arm around her and pulled Marinette closer. He looked around  for a moment and said to her “So, do we get a discount or-”. Before Alec could finish his sentence however, Shelly slapped him over the head.

“Really dude? We just became friends with her and you’re already asking for a discount!?” Alec laughed as Shelly scolded him. Marinette and Shelly soon joined him as they began to laugh themselves.

“Well, I guess I could make that happen.” Alec lit up and hugged her tightly almost suffocating her.

“Thank You!!! Now let’s go eat some croissants!” He began running in the direction of the bakery and Shelly yelled after him to “Wait up”. Marinette smiled at the sight and thought to herself _Huh, maybe something good will come out of this after all._

 


	2. In which Alec wants some macarons

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Even though they just met an hour ago, Marinette can't help but feel that they've been friends for years.
> 
> In this chapter we witness Alec and Shelly meeting Sabine and embarrassing Marinette along the way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> #LetAlecEatTheMacaronsShelly
> 
> Beta-Read by @DisorganizedKitten

**Year 1 May 11, 2019**

The doors to the Dupain-Cheng Patisserie and Boulangerie swung open as Alec excitedly bolted in, followed by Shelly who was muttering something about the boy who had entered before her. Not even a minute later Marinette walked in just in time to see Alec button-spamming ( _Or would it be bell-spamming?_ ) the desk bell.

"Alec for the love of God would you please stop ringing that fucking bell? You're going to make yourself look like an idiot in front of Marinette's parents." Shelly groaned, rolling her eyes at Alec. The boy only looked back at her for a second before pausing and pouting,

"Aw you're no fun you know that Shelly?" The girl mentioned only nodded responding with a quick "Well somebodies got to keep you from looking like a dumbass." Alec frowned at this before turning his head away dramatically. "I don't think we should be friends now that I know your true feelings." 

This got a giggle out of Marinette. Alec heard this and snapped his head out in her direction, he flashed a cocky smile that reminded her of Chat Noir whenever he made a bad pun. Shelly rolled her eyes for what must be the 5th time that day and said "Ha ha ha M. Rubah, will you  _please_ bless us with another one of your  _hilarious_ jokes?" with a sarcastic tone clearly prominent in her voice. But, beneath that sarcasm was a tone of fondness that spoke more words then what Shelly had actually said.

Alec only smirked in response, opening his mouth to say something, probably a sarcastic quote to counter Shelly's if the last 1 or 2 hours was a good example of their relationship with each other, before being interrupted by a voice calling from the kitchen.

"I'll be right out!" said the voice. Marinette immediately recognized it as her mother. She looked over to were Alec and Shelly were standing. Alec was tapping his fingers on the counter out of an emotion she couldn't quite identify. Was it out of excitement and anticipation? Or was it out of nervousness? Shelly on the other hand had a blank expression plastered across her face, well almost blank. A small smirk had found its way onto her face. The reason why, Marinette did not know. Maybe it was because Alec was nervous? That would certainly answer two of her lingering questions.

Her mother stepped out of the kitchen with the average "Costumer Service fake smile". Her "smile" turned into a look of surprise when she saw Marinette and the two unfamiliar teenagers. "Oh hello  _wo nu er_ (1), who are these?" Marinette could hear the hesitation in her mother's voice. She understood it though, after all she would be cautious of people too if she had heard that her daughter had been bullied by people she thought were her  _friends_.

"I'm Shelly Vert(2) and this is my friend Alec Rubah(3). We were in the park during the Akuma attack and Marinette saved us from being electrocuted!" said Shelly. Alec nodded in conformation before adding in "Yeah! She's like, so brave!".

Marinette was caught off guard by Alec's statement and coughed loudly. She managed to sputter out a "That's not true!" but was disregarded by Shelly and Alec. Shelly seemed to be stifling a laugh while Alec looked at her like she had just said the dumbest thing ever.

"Huh? Why are you booing me I'm right!" Alec said like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Before Marinette could once again refute his praise her mother spoke up. "Well it's nice to know that my daughter is making friends. Now, would any of you like some macarons? I just took some out of the oven. It's a new recipe and I'd be happy to let you taste test it."

Alec's face lit up at this, causing a look of worry to appear on Shelly's face. "Of course! I just _love_ your macaroons!" said Alec excitedly. "It would be a personal honor Mrs. Dupain-Cheng!"

"Just Mrs. Cheng or Sabine will be fine Alec." said her mother. She turned her head over to where Shelly was and asked "What about you? Would you like some Macaroons?"

Shelly shrugged and said "Well _somebody's_ got to keep Alec from eating all the macaroons," this caused Alec to shoot a glare in Shelly's direction, making Marinette laugh.

 Sabine opened the hatch leading to the kitchen area and gestured for the teens to go through. "Well what are you waiting for? Come on in!" The teens nodded and filed in. Sabine stopped Marinette from going through though. She looked to Alec and Shelly and told them "You two head to the kitchen without us. I need to talk to Marinette about something real quick." 

The pair looked at each other, looked back at Marinette and her mother, than looked back at each other. "Ok, whatever you say Mrs. Cheng." said Alec before leaving for the kitchen.

"Make sure to introduce yourselves to my husband!" Sabine yelled. "Don't want him to freak out now do we?" 

Shelly nodded and said "Will do Mrs. Cheng!" before following Alec into the kitchen.

After they left Marinette turned to her mother and asked "What is it Mom?"

Sabine sighed and placed a hand on Marinette's shoulder. " _I need to talk to you about your class_."

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I pulled a little sneaky on yah.
> 
>  
> 
> Translators notes:  
> (1)= "Wo nu er" is Chinese for "My daughter"
> 
> (2)= "Vert" is French for "Green"
> 
> (3)= "Rubah" is Indonesian for "Fox"


	3. In which Sabine and Marinette have a talk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In this Chapter Sabine and Marinette chat about Mari's current school situation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Beta'd by @Apex_Primus

**Year 1 May 11, 2019**

“ _I need to talk to you about your class._ ”

Marinette paused, she didn’t know what else her mother would want to talk about while on the subject of her classmates.

“Um, ok? What about them?” She asked, unsure if she wanted to have this conversation.

Sabine sighed before sitting down on a nearby stool. She gestured for Marinette to do the same. Marinette obliged and pulled up a chair in front of her mother. Sabine cleared her throat before speaking.

“Me and your father have been talking about your _situation_...“ She took a deep breath. “And we have been thinking about transferring you to a different school, or at the least to a different class.”

Marinette was shocked speechless, what was she to say to that? Her eyes looked frantically around as if looking for an answer. Before she could find an answer though, Sabine placed a hand on Marinette’s shoulder.

“It’s ok if you don’t want to immediately, but if something comes up we will not hesitate to transfer you, ok?” said Sabine firmly. Marinette nodded numbly, as if still trying to process the sentence.

“Um, what school would I go to if this were to ever happen?” Marinette asked quietly.

Her mother hummed in contemplation before saying a quick “I’m not completely sure honey, but you can decide if that time ever comes.” Marinette nodded before her mother spoke again. “But, if I was in your shoes, I’d go to _Oblivion’s Edge Academy for the arts._ I’ve heard it has a very extensive fashion curriculum and I think you’d excel there.” finished Sabine.

Marinette was shocked at the name of the school. “Isn’t Oblivion’s Edge like, super expensive though? How would we afford that?” asked Marinette.

Sabine just chuckled and said “I’m sure we can get you on a scholarship honey. In fact, we’ve already got confirmation to send you there!”

This had made Marinette speechless. It was like she had just shut down completely and was rebooting. Once she had processed what her mother had said, she freaked.

“Really!!??” Marinette yelled enthusiastically. Sabine shushed her and laughed. “Yes honey.” Sabine said between laughs. Marinette blushed out of embarrassment. “But we will only send you there if you want us to. We won’t do anything about your schooling situation without informing you first.” said Sabine calmly.

Marinette nodded and was about to say something before being interrupted by a large _thump_ coming from the kitchen preceded by coughing.

“ _Alec_! What the fuck was that?!”

She heard nervous laughing and then loud yelping, followed by Shelly shouting more curses at him.

“How about we go in the kitchen and stop your friends from destroying the kitchen, shall we?” asked Sabine, knocking Marinette out of her trance. She nodded and began laughing.

 

“You two better not destroy my kitchen!” Marinette yelled to Shelly and Alec. The two teens who were in the kitchen just responded with laughter.

Marinette began to walk into the kitchen before, once again, being stopped by her mother. She looked up in confusion before Sabine spoke.

“Me and you father have made the decision to _revoke_ your classmates’ discount to the bakery, is that okay with you?”. Marinette nodded, not bothering to say anything about the decision. Sabine let go of Marinette and watched as she skipped into the kitchen.

“I really hope Alec and Shelly are good friends to her, I wouldn’t want Marinette to be ruined again.” said Sabine.

Voicing her thoughts to no one in particular. She was lost deep in thought until the door to the bakery opened. She turned around to greet the customer but was mildly surprised to who it was.

“Oh, hello there, Adrien. What are you doing here?”

 


	4. In which Shelly throws hands

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrien wants to talk with Marinette, but Shelly is having none of it.
> 
> Beta read by @DisorganizedKitten and @Apex_Primus

**Year 1 May 11, 2019**

Adrien looked at his feet nervously before saying, “I need to talk to Marinette about something important. May I see her please?”

Sabine didn’t need a brain to know what Adrien wanted to talk to Marinette about, and she was not having it. Ever since Marinette told her and Tom his advice on the situation they had tried to keep him away from Marinette while she was at home. Sabine could kind of understand where he was coming from with his advice it was still kind of useless in the end. To quote her daughter “No matter how hard you try, someone will get akumatized in the end!”

“I’m so sorry Adrien, but Marinette has friends over right now,” Sabine said with feigned sorrow. As if to prove Sabine’s statement, loud laughter rang out of the kitchen from a person who was very much not Marinette. After that the sound of a wheelchair coming towards them became prominent, along with frustrated grumbling.

Sabine hid a chuckle and wondered what Alec did this time to make Shelly feel the need to come over to her. But, her attention was snapped back to Adrien as he spoke.

“O-Oh um, can I talk to her after she’s done then?” Adrien asked politely. Obviously not expecting to be denied, let alone after asking like that

Before she could answer Sabine was cut off by Shelly, who had just wheeled into the main room of the bakery. “Hey Mrs. Cheng? Alec and Marinette need your help with something real quick.”

Sabine nodded and looked over to Adrien, who was still standing at the counter. “I’m sorry Adrien, but you and Marinette will have to talk another time,” she said to the boy.

Adrien visibly shrank and let out an, “Oh, okay then.” before slinking away to the door. Well, _trying to_ slink would be a better way to say it.

Shelly called out to him as he left, “Hey model boy!” This got Adrien’s attention, “I need to talk to you about something,” she eyed Sabine. “ _Alone please._ ” Sabine nodded, excusing the rudeness as accidental, and left to the kitchen.

Adrien looked confused and asked, “What is it? Oh, and who are you by the way?”

Shelly sighed before replying, “I’m Shelly Vert and I’m in M. Berlioz’s class at Francoise Dupont, and I need to warn you about a pathological liar in your class, Lila Rossi’s her name.” Adrien flinched at the mention of the name. “I’m assuming you’ve heard of her and the utter _bullshit_ she spews.” She punctuated her statement with an icy look.

Assuming by the look on his face Adrien was still confused to why Shelly wanted to talk to him. “What are you talking about? Her lies are harmless, why do you care about it so much?” Adrien asked with actual, _genuine_ , confusion.

Shelly shook her head “But her lies aren’t harmless. No, they are far, _far_ , from harmless. I once tried to call her out when she told my younger sister she was related to Michelangelo, someone who had no living relatives to have heirs, and you wanna know what she did?” Adrien looked unsure, as if Shelly was serious about Lila. But, before he could say no Shelly continued, “Told most of the school I lost my hair to drugs and alcohol.” She took off the ball cap that was on her head and gestured to her lack of hair, “When in reality I haven’t been able to grow hair since i was super young.” Shelly sighed and placed the hat back on her head “Her lies aren’t that harmless if you just look at them _Adrien_.”

He looked shocked that she knew his name. ”H-how-?” he asked, clearly disturbed.

“Of course I know your name fuckhead, it’s plastered all over Paris,” Shelly spat. Her patience clearly wearing thin for this conversation. “I also go to the same school as you, dumbass.”

Adrien nodded numbly, mentally scolding himself for not coming to that conclusion. “Even if that was true why would you tell me?” he asked in a somewhat accusing voice.

Shelly rolled her eyes, “Can you get more stupid? I just wanted to spread the word about how you shouldn’t listen to _her_ , but it seems like my efforts were all in vain.” She scoffed. “Because _you_ already knew about it.”

“What makes you say that?” Adrien asked.

Shelly rubbed her temples “I have eyes you _egg_. Don’t think I didn’t notice how you flinched when I mentioned Lila.” He flinched again. “Case and point.” Shelly said sarcastically. “Oh, and I’ve also heard that advice you gave Mari.”

“Wait, how? No one else was near us,” Adrien questioned.

“I’m a lurker, I lurk. And I just so happened to be lurking near you at that moment.” Shelly leaned in so that she was staring straight at him. “Good God I’ve never heard worse advice.”

Judging by the look on his face, this must have offended Adrien somehow. “What do you mean? It makes perfect sense in this situation!”

“Taking the high road may be good in some situations, but just letting someone drag your reputation into the dirt because if you stand up to them you’ll _hurt their feelings_ and get akumatized? What about the person getting dragged huh? Are they not allowed to have feelings?!” she yelled, getting angrier by the second.

“O-of course not!” Adrien defended himself. Putting his hands up and backing away.

“Well it sure seems like that’s what you’re saying!” Shelly yelled. She sighed and rubbed the bridge of her nose. “Just get out of here already.” she sighed.

“Why should I? You don’t own this bakery!” He retorted. “I’ll stay if I want to!”

Shelly sighed. _He’s acting like a fucking child!_ She thought. “Unless you want to deal with an angry as fuck akuma then yes, stay.” Adrien shrunk and shuffled away from the counter and towards the door. “Now that I’ve made myself clear, **_Get Out_ **.” Adrien shot out of the bakery.

Shelly sighed and turned back to the kitchen where Marinette and Alec were making (well, trying to, in Alec’s case) cupcakes. Marinette turned her head to greet Shelly. “Hi Shelly! What took you so long?” Marinette asked.

Shelly rubbed the back of her head. “Oh , sorry. I saw someone I haven’t seen in awhile,” she lied.

Alec narrowed his eyes “Ok, whatever you say…” he said, making it clear that he knew she was lying. He snapped back to his usual self again though, and turned to Marinette. “Hey Mari, you wanna come over to my house with me and Shelly tomorrow? We’re going to have a Mario Kart party with a few others from our class. You want in?”

Marinette’s eyes widened with bewilderment before lighting up with excitement. “I’d love too! When should I come over?” she asked with happiness.

“Oh, don’t worry about that. I’ll have my bro pick you up at 10. He looks just like me but his hair is dyed blue-ish purple. Don’t be scared if someone asks for you!” he said Cheerfully. “Oh and Marinette….” Alec said in a low voice. “ _Daisy is mine_.”

Marinette laughed. “Okay, but I call Isabelle!” she cheered.

“You’ll have to beat me to her first,” Shelly chuckled.

“Oh, it. _Is_ . **_On._ **”

All in all, Marinette had a great day. And she couldn’t help feeling hope that her life would keep getting better.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ha ha so I can explain why I haven't posted in like 15 years (I can't)
> 
> Also this story is in May now. Don't ask.


	5. In which Marinette goes to Alec's house

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 2 chapters in 1 week?! Yeah don't count on that being a trend.

**Year 1: May 12, 2019**

It was the next day and Marinette couldn’t have been more nervous. “Oh Tikki, what if they decide they don’t like my anymore! What if they humiliate me in front of their classmates?! What if they think that I-”

“Marinette you’re overreacting! It’s fine! I seriously doubt they’ll do that,” Tikki said. “They seem like nice people.”

Marinette sighed. “That’s what I thought about the others.”

Tikki flew up and placed her paws(?) on Marinette’s face. “You need to stop thinking about that. It’s not healthy! Just live and let live. It’s their fault that they don’t believe! This is your day. Enjoy it!” Tikki booped Marinette’s nose.

“Thanks Tikki, but right now I’m feeling like I should live and let die,” Marinette said. She glanced at her watch. “I sure go downstairs. It’s almost 10.”

Tikki smiled. “I’m glad you’re going through with this,” she said. Tikki flew into Marinette’s small purse. “Now let’s go!”

Marinette laughed at this. “Calm down Tikki, it’s not like he’s here yet.”

“Marinette Alec’s brother is here!” Sabine called from the living room.

“Speak of the devil and he shall appear Marinette!” Tikki chuckled. Marinette rolled her eyes and went down stairs.

When Marinette got to the bakery she was mildly surprised. Alec’s brother did not look like how she would have guessed he would. While he did look a lot like Alec for the most part he still looked different. He had blue and purple hair and gray eyes, which isn't that surprising if you asked her. It was the fact that he had a very punk aesthetic. He had thick eyeliner, black lipstick, earrings, and a bunch of rings on his fingers. His gray biker jacket had ripped sleeves. He wore a black and white striped shirt, dark blue ripped jeans with a loose checkered belt, and blue flats.

He looked to Marinette and introduced herself. “Yo I’m Andre, Alec’s brother! I’m assuming you’re Marinette Dupain-Cheng? If not this is super awkward,” he rubbed the back of his neck and smiled. 

“Yep! Nice to meet you Andre!” Marinette shook his hand. 

“Great! I hope you don’t mind riding on a motorcycle,” Andre laughed. “If not then we’ll have to hitch a taxi cab.”   
“Oh it’s fine! I used to ride on my Nonna’s all the time!” Marinette said happily.

“Awesome! I’ve got a spare helmet you can use. It might be a  _ little _ big though.”

“Once again, it’s fine.”

“Aight.” Andre said. He opened the front door and dramatically bowed down. “Onward Princess, your chariot awaits!”

She giggled. “Thank you dear driver.” Marinette curtsied and Andre looked up. He smiled brightly.

They both hopped on the motorcycle (not literally, mind you). As Marinette got situated and put her helmet on she noticed something. She tapped Andre on the shoulder and asked “Is that Jack Skellington on your jacket?”.

“Hm? Oh yeah. One of my friends from Oblivion’s Edge made it for me.” he answered,

“You go to OE?” Marinette asked. “I got accepted into it and I might go to it in Lycee.”

“Cool! I’ll be in 3rd year when that happens. I’m in the Music course by the way.” Andre said and started up the motorcycle. “Hang on! We live near the Eiffel Tower. So it might take a while.” with that he started off.

As they rode away Marinette looked at the landscapes that were flying by. She was so used to seeing Paris from the rooftops as Ladybug she had almost forgotten what it was like seeing it from the streets. On a motorcycle no less. They flew past numerous buildings. College Francois Dupont, The Louvre, etc. She was so distracted by the view she didn’t even notice when they got to the Rubah household.

“We have arrived!” Andre announced, knocking Marinette out of her thoughts. “Welcome to The Castle of Rubah. Not as magical as The Castle of Dreams but I’d say it’s pretty close,” he mused, putting his finger up to his mouth.

“Thanks Andre! Also what is this ‘Castle of Dreams?’” she asked

“Eh, I’m sure Alec will tell you all about it when he gets the chance.” he shrugged before leaning down to her ear. “ _ Don’t give him the chance because he’ll never stop, and I mean it. _ ”

Marinette nodded, obviously weirded out. “Okay,” she said drawing out the ‘O’.

The pair opened the door to the house and walked in. Before Andre could announce their arrival he was tackled down by a little girl around 8.

“Hey Princess Ana! How’s the kingdom going?” He asked the little girl, Ana, in a goofy voice.

Ana giggled “Great! Who’s the girl Sir Andre?” she asked. 

“This is the lovely Princess Marinette of the Kingdom of Sweets. She’s here for the meeting of the different Kingdoms Alec erm-  _ Sir Alec _ \- is holding,” Andre explained.

Ana smiled and turned to Marinette. She looked much more like Alec than Andre did. She had the same colored long messy hair and toxic green eyes. Ana had a paper crown and multiple hair clips. She was wearing a dress much akin to that of a disney princess.

“You are free to travel to the meeting area! Boop!” Ana got on her tip-toes and booped Marinette’s nose. She then ran off to do ‘Princess business’ as Andre told her.

“So, who else besides Alec and Shelly are here?” Marinette asked as they made their way upstairs. 

“Two girls from their class, names are Mei and Celeste. They’re cool. I hang out with Mei sometimes and fuck around with the DJ equipment I got from OE,” Andre said.

“Is that allowed?”

“Yeah, I think it is.”

“Think?”

“Yep,” He said, popping the p at the end.

Before she could reply he opened a door. “We’re here!”

The people in the room turned to face Marinette and Andre. There were four people in the room. Alec, Shelly, and two girls she didn’t recognize.

Alec and Shelly waved at her. “Hey Mari! I see Andre didn’t kill you on your way here,” Alec joked.

“Hey!” Andre yelled.

“So this is the Marinette you were talking about,” said one of the girls. “I’m Mei, Mei Runevy. I think I recognize you from school.” 

Mei flashed a bright smile and shook Marinette’s hand violently. Mei had light brown skin and fluffy hair cut into a pixie cut that was the same color. She had purple cat-eared headphones with speakers in the ears, a pearly white sleeveless turtleneck shirt, jean shorts, and purple and white flats.

“You’re the girl who won that Gabriel contest right?” Mei asked.

“Yeah that’s me,” Marinette said nervously.

Mei must have picked up on Marinette’s unsteadiness because she looped an arm around her shoulders. “No need to be nervous! Celeste and I don’t bite,” she mused and pointed to the other girl.

Celeste was ghostly pale and had long black straight hair with a red headband nestled into her hair. She wore a sleeveless white button-up with a red and black vest, a crimson bow tie with a golden diamond symbol much like the ones in a card game, a skirt was a red so dark it looked black, golden stockings and black dress shoes.

“Hello Marinette. I do hope I’m not the cause of your nervousness,” Celeste said flatly while playing mindlessly with a deck of cards.

“No of course not! I just get a little nervous around new people,” Marinette assured her.

Celeste smiled (Well, if you could call just pressing your lips together a smile). “It seems we share that habit.” 

Marinette rubbed the back of her neck. “I hope I can become good friends with you two.”

“Likewise I’m sure.”

“You’re already great in my book!”

Marinette laughed sheepishly. “Thanks you two!”

“Okay enough with the introductions. Let’s get to the Mario Kart!” Alec laughed and punched the air. He tossed Marinette a Joy-con. “You wanna play with us Andre?” He turned and asked his brother who was leaning against the doorway. 

Andre shook his head “Nah, I have to get to working on my final project for school. Can’t procrastinate forever,” He said waving the suggestion off. “Have a fun day ya’ll.”

They watched as he walked away. Alec shrugged. “His loss I guess.” He turned back to the TV. “Anyway , let's get to karting!” at this everyone cheered.

“Wait Celeste doesn’t have a Joy-con though.” Marinette said.

“Oh I’m not touching the Switch until I get confirmation on Animal Crossing on the Switch’s existence,” Celeste stated.

“Oh, ok.”

Marinette turned her head to the TV as the game started counting down.

“3, 2, 1”

“ **_Go!_ ** ”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm going to see Toy Story 4 tomorrow. I'll tell you how emotionally destroyed I am.
> 
> Also shoutout to the first Person who can guess what The Castle of Dreams is a reference to.


	6. In which someone gets left behind

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You ready for more characters? I know I am! *pained smile*
> 
>  
> 
> Also during the text bit in this chapter Celeste is in Bold Italics while ---- is in Underlined bold

**Year 1: May 12, 2019**

It was roughly 2 hours since they started the “party” and they had come to a lull in the fun. Since it was noon they had decided to take a lunch break and discuss what to do next.

“I think we should play some Smash," Mei suggested, in between bites of her sandwich

Alec shook his head. “Nah, we play it all the time. What about Super Mario Party?”

“I heard from a friend who _loves_ those games that it, in their words not mine, ‘sucked ass’,” Shelly pitched in. “I would say Odyssey or Botw but those are single player games.”

“How about we play on your Wii?” Marinette gestures at the collection of consoles under the TV. “Or any of your other game consoles for that matter.”

Alec thought about it for a minute. “Yeah, I guess we could do that. But, what would we play?”

“Well, what games do you have? For the Wii I mean.”

“We have Brawl, Mario Galaxy, My Sims, Mario Kart, a large variety of lego games, Cooking Mama, Epic Mickey,” Alec listed off.

“What’s Epic Mickey?” Celeste asked.

“Mickey’s trapped in an edgy DisneyLand basically.”

“Sounds promising. I wanna see it,” Celeste said. “You had me at Edgy DisneyLand.”

“Okay we’ve got that on the list. Anything else?” Alec looked around the room, receiving no responses. “Okay then, Epic Mickey-” Alec was cut off by someone’s phone going off.

Celeste pulled out her phone, sent a few texts and groaned. “Sorry, guys, you’ll have to start it without me. Seth’s friends forgot about him and left him in the park, again.”

“Again!? Damn that’s like, what? The 5th time this month? Your brother needs some new friends,” Mei sighed.

“That’s what I keep telling him!” Celeste agreed exasperatedly. “Anyway see you later.” she waved and ran out the door.

Marinette was confused. “Who’s Seth?” 

Shelly answered her. “Celeste’s younger twin brother. He and his ‘friends’-” Shelly put air quotes around the word friends. “-Were supposed to go out to the movies today. But they forgot him, like they always do.” She punctuated her statement with an eye roll. 

“Yeah, what she said,” Alec chimed in, pointing at Shelly. “He always says that ‘it was an accident’ and ‘they won’t forget me next time!’”

“And he hasn’t gotten akumatized yet?” Marinette asked, uncertain if that was completely healthy.

“Nope. I think he’s just holding onto false hope at this point,” Mei said sadly. “It’s not healthy!”

“That’s horrible! Why doesn’t he just drop them?” Marinette asked, horrified.

Alec shrugged. “I dunno. I just hope he doesn’t get akumatized over it.”

They all fell silent. Hopping that Seth would be spared the akuma.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**_Meanwhile at the park….._ **

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sitting alone on a bench covered in the shade from the trees was a young boy. His face and eyes red from excessive crying, bottom lip being bit down in an attempt to muffle his sobs, and his hands were shaking. He was looking down at his phone, staring at his and his sister’s text conversation.

**Hey can you pick me up?**

**I'm @ the park**

_**Yeah, Why?** _

**My friends forgot me again**

_**Again!?** _

_**Jeez you need some new friends bro** _

**Just Pick me up**

_**omw** _

His stare lingered on the texts before he switched tabs to snapchat. What popped up was a picture of his friends at the party _he_ was supposed to be at with them. They were supposed to pick him up an hour ago, and yet here he was. Tears began to blur his vision as he looked at the photo. Sobs began to escape his lips despite his attempts at muffeling them.

“T-They forgot me again.” he sobbed. “W-why? They said they wouldn’t forget me this time. They said ‘We’ll pick you up at 11:30 Seth!” The boy laid down on his side in a fetal position. He began sobbing in to the purple scarf that was tied around his neck.

“I just-” _*sniff*_ “-I just don’t get it.” cried Seth. “Why didn’t they pick me up? Why do they _never_ pick me up?”

 **_“Why indeed?”_ ** asked a voice. Seth shot up, his emotions amplified by what seemed like 1000. **_“They should know better than to forget a friend,”_ **said the voice.

“You’re right. They should!” agreed Seth, his sadness replaced with rage.

 **_“I’m glad you agree with me.”_ ** The voice chuckled. **_“Erasure, I am Hawkmoth. I can give you the power to never be forgotten again, at the expense of someone else being forgotten of course. Soon you’ll be one of the most well-known people in the world! All I need in return are the miraculouses of Ladybug and Chat Noir. Do we have a deal?”_ **

“They won’t be able to forget me if I’m the only person they can remember!” Seth seethed, letting a purple mist engulf him.

When the mist faded Erasure looked exactly like Seth did, except for the longer scarf. He looked down at himself and laughed. “Soon they'll know what it's like to be forgotten and left behind."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> haha I like destroying my OCs. No I'm not going to stop anytime soon.  
> Also I don't know how text messages work apparently.
> 
> Here's my Discord if any of you want to chat! Spykids#4138


	7. In which an akuma begins it's revenge

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In this chapter Erasure is out for revenge and Mei is a Lesbian disaster

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to @Disorganizedkitten and @Apex_Primus for beta-ing!  
> Well hey howdy hey if it isn't a new chapter! Sorry it took so long, Writer's block is an absolute bitch. Also school for me starts tomorrow so It looks like my summer vacation is..... over.

**Year 1: May 12, 2019**

A wicked smirk was plastered over Erasure’s face, a mischievous glint in his eyes. He furrowed his eyebrows.

He walked forward to the park exit, to caught up in his thoughts of revenge to notice his sister walking towards him.

“Seth,” she called with a concerned tone, catching his attention. “Where are you going?” she asked, placing a hand on his shoulder.

“Um….” he looked away from Celeste. “The party?” he said like it was obvious.

Celeste frowned “No, no you are not.” she said. “I know you’re probably in denial but those people, those people are not your friends Seth. They keep using you.”

Erasure took her hand off of his shoulder only to have it placed back on. “I’m serious, you are in no condition to go to that party. Just accept that they aren’t your friends,” she said with more force.

Erasure was getting annoyed. “I’m fine Leste. Can I go?” he said frustratedly. Celeste didn’t let  go. Instead, she grabbed his hands and started forcefully pulling him. 

“We’re going home Seth. You aren’t acting right.” 

“No I’m not. Why are you being difficult?”

“Me?  _ You’re _ the one acting difficult!”

“Just let me  _ go! _ ” Erasure yelled, his eyes turning a bright purple. Celeste let him go, her hands falling to her sides and eyes going hollow. Erasure brought one of his hands up, letting it hover near Celeste’s face, and spoke. “ _ My friends didn’t forget me, I’m just a little late. I asked you here so you could walk to the party with me, but you can go back to your hangout with your friends. _ ” Erasure told her. The same hue of purple of Erasure’s eyes flashed across Celeste’s for a moment before they went back to their usual red. She nodded numbly and walked in the direction of Alec’s house wordlessly. 

Erasure smirked. “Now that that’s over with.” he said to himself. “I can get to work.” he chuckled to himself darkly. His smile fell and his stride quickened. “It’s time for revenge…”

* * *

 

“No, Alec! You need to use paint on that thing, paint! Not thinner you fucking idiot!” Shelly gestured wildly.

“Use it on what Shelly? What?!” Alec yelled back, flailing the wiimote in a panicked fashion.

“THE ARMS!” Shelly yelled. “You know what? Give me the fucking wiimote.” Shelly yanked the controller out of Alec’s hands. Alec looked offended and yanked it back. The pair began a tug-of-war with the wiimote, completely forgetting about the game until the ominous  **_“Game Over”_ ** screen sounded.

“You guys suck at this game!” said Mei, who was upside down on the couch.

Shelly crossed her arms. “It’s the fucking song. It makes so  _ angry,” _ she seethed. 

Mei hummed. “The song huh?” she mused.

“Yes.”   
Mei smiled and began singing. “ _ It’s a world of laughter a world of cheers, It’s a world hopes and a world of fears. There’s so much that we share and it’s time we’re aware. It’s a small world after- _ omph!” Mei was cut off by Shelly throwing a pillow at her.

“Don’t.” Shelly glared at Mei.

Marinette chuckled. “Why do you hate that so much?” she asked.

Alec snickered “Well…” before he could finish, Celeste entered the room.

“Hey guys.” she said blankly. Staring ahead at nothing in particular.

Mei got up off the floor and hopped up on the couch so that she was facing the ravenette. “Hey Letse! You’re back early, how’s Seth?” 

“Fine,” she said emotionlessly “Why wouldn’t he be?”

Shelly maneuvered her wheelchair so that she would be facing the girl. She cocked her eyebrows. “Uhh, he got left behind by his ‘friends’ remember? You went to go pick him up because he surely would not be in the right mind to walk home by himself?”

Celeste stared past Shelly before blinking a few times, regaining some sense of emotion, before speaking. “What do you mean? He was completely fine, just a little confused about the plan his friends had. I don’t even know why he needed me in the first place,” she answered and sat down in the free spot next to Mei. The brown-haired girl froze slightly when Celeste sat down next to her, but quickly relaxed.

“That’s nice I guess? I thought you said you wished he would just leave his friends though.” Mei asked hesitantly.

“You must’ve misheard me. His friends are fine,” Celeste said, hollow eyes staring straight at the tv screen.

Everyone just awkwardly looked back at the screen and watched as Alec resumed playing. After a few minutes of silence they gradually fell back into conversation. Marinette kept on noticing that Mei would sometimes reach for Celeste’s hand but withdrawing last second during conversations. Another thing that she noticed was the purple ring around Celeste’s eyes.

After a few hours Marinette got up. “Well I should get going soon. Don’t want to make my parents worry to much. See you tomorrow I guess?” she said looking at the clock.

Alec turned towards her. “See ya! How about you sit with us at lunch tomorrow?” he asked. 

“Sure!” Marinette smiled. “I’ll be heading out now.”

“Do you want me to get Andre or..?” Alec trailed off.

Marinette waved him off. “I’ll take a taxi it, won’t take that long to get to Notre Dame. Besides..” she laughed “I’m sure Andre needs all the time he can get for that project of his.”

She waved goodbye and walked out. Just as she had left the house (after saying goodbye to Ana of course) she heard someone call out to her. “Yo wait!” It was Mei. Marinette watched as the girl came running up to her “Can I ride home with you? I live close to your bakery,” she asked.

“Sure!” Marinette smiled.

“Oh thanks,” Mei smiled back.

The pair waited for a taxi to show up together. As they were waiting Marinette decided to bring up something that was bothering her. “So, I noticed that you kept reaching for Celeste’s hand when we were talking. What’s up with that?” she asked.

Mei froze up, looked around, and spoke in a low voice. “I uh- I  _ might _ have a crush on her,” she admitted nervously. “But don’t tell anyone! I’m afraid she’ll reject me and I’ll ruin the friend circle.” Mei whined and ran her hands through her hair.

Marinette placed her hand on the panicking girls shoulder. “Hey, It’s okay to have a crush on your friend, okay?” she reassured her.

“Really?”

“Yes.”

“That's... good.” Mei said quietly. “But, there’s something weird going on with her. She for sure said that she didn’t like Seth’s friends right?” 

“Yeah, she most definitely did,” Marinette confirmed.

“But, it’s probably nothing right? It’s probably a prank. She loves fucking us over.” Mei smiled confidently.

Marinette frowned “How can you be so sure?” she asked.

Mei’s smile faltered. “I can’t.” she admitted. “But, it’s better than saying that, I don’t know, she was hypnotized by an akuma or something.”

Marinette nodded “It is.” The two stayed in silence until the taxi showed up and they resumed talking about Mei’s crush. “So…” she began. “How long have you had a crush on Celeste?” Marinette asked.

Mei rubbed her arm “A few weeks maybe? It just kinda…” she gestured vaguely “happened? I mean I don’t know one day I just…” Mei buried her head into her hands and groaned. “Why is love so hard?!”

Marinette giggled, earning a glare from Mei. “Don’t laugh at my suffering,” she huffed, crossing her arms.

“I’m sorry! It’s just ...” Marinette paused before being struck with a great idea. “How about I help you? Confess with your feelings I mean.”

Mei looked at her flabbergasted. “You’d do that?” she asked. Marinette nodded and Mei hugged her excitedly. “Thank you!”

“It’s nothing really. I think you two would be cute together.” Mei was about to say something, but was cut off by the taxi stopping. “I guess this is my stop.” Marinette unbuckled her seatbelt and got out of the car.

“See you tomorrow Mari!” Mei bid her goodbye.

“See you tomorrow.” Marinette waved goodbye and watched as the car drove off. She stood there for a moment before Tikki spoke. “Well they were nice! You really didn’t have anything to worry about!” she told Marinette.

“Yeah they were, but I’m more concerned for Celeste. Did you sense anything wrong with her?” Marinette asked the kwami.

Tikki was quiet for a moment before speaking. “I’m reluctant to say so but, yes unfortunately.” she confirmed. “We won’t be able to do anything for sure until tomorrow however. I think you should just  wait until we’re sure it’s an akuma.”

Marinette nodded and opened the bakery door. “I’m home!”

“Welcome back honey!” her father walked out of the kitchen to greet her. “How was your day?”

Marinette smiled brightly “It was great Papa! Where’s maman?” she asked upon noticing that her mother was nowhere to be seen.

“Oh she had to run out and do a delivery. She’ll be back soon,” her father informed her. “So… how are your new friends?” he asked.

“They’re really great! But right now I just want to go to sleep,” Marinette told him.

Tom smiled happily. “Hanging out with friends does that to you.” He rubbed her hair affectionately. “Good night honey.”

“Night papa!” She said while running upstairs to her bedroom. She practically threw herself onto her bed when she got into her room. “I think I'm just gonna go to sleep right now,” Marinette told her kwami, voice muffled by her bed.

Tikki giggled “Good night Marinette! Be prepared for tomorrow. We still don’t know if there’s an akuma out there.”

Marinette groaned “Don’t remind me,” she yawned “Good night Tikki…” Marinette fell asleep right then and there.

Tikki sighed affectionately. “Good night Marinette…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quick explanation of Erasure's powers cause I don't know how to explain things. Erasure has the power to hypnotize people and erase their memories to fit his desire's, so basically if Namine from kingdom hearts and The Squip from BMC fused.


	8. In which something's wrong

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette goes to school and finds that something's off

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hahaha so...... How's life? I'm sorry this has taken so long. Writer's block sucks! Also, enjoy another new character! I need help

**Year 1: May 13, 2019**

Marinette stood in the kitchen waiting for the toaster to finish with her breakfast. She had surprisingly woken up on time for school that day, probably because she was excited to see the others again. Or it could be that she was nervous about the possibility that an akuma had been running rampant for the entire night. Who knows?

“Oh! You’re up already!” remarked a voice. Marinette turned around and was met with the sight of her mother leaned against the doorway smiling. 

“I can get up early!” Marinette remarked. Her mom cocked her eyebrow and Marinette looked away in embarrassment. “Most of the time…” she laughed nervously.

Sabine sighed affectionately. “I believe you honey.” the woman walked over to her daughter and patted her on the head. “Just don’t linger around here okay?”

“Okay maman.” The pigtailed girl told her mother. The alarm on the toaster started ringing and the toast popped out. Marinette grabbed the toast and took a bite into it. “Uhm guha geh goin no, fee you layer.” (translation: I’m gonna get going now, see you later.) she said, voice muffled by the toast in her mouth. “Luhv you.”

Sabine watched amusedly as her daughter rushed out the door with a piece of toast in her mouth like those old TV Shows the girl made them watch when she was younger. “Love you too honey.”

* * *

 

As Marinette rushed down the staircase, toast in mouth, Tikki peeked out of her purse. “Why are you in such a hurry Marinette? You’re not even close to being late!” the kwami asked.

Marinette glanced down at the spotted creature. The girl just shrugged and continued running. She reached the bottom of the staircase and opened the door. Marinette took in a deep breath and stepped out into the-

“Hey Mari!”

“Wah!” Marinette jumped up into the air and spun around with her hand up ready to slap someone. The other person must of been surprised too because they jumped away before Marinette could slap them.

“Woah! Sorry Mari, I didn’t mean to scare you, honest!” It was Alec, one hand rubbing the back of his neck. “That’s one of my uh- _faults_. I have a habit of scaring people by popping up out of nowhere”

“Just don’t do it again ok?” Marinette huffed. She noticed that she no longer had the toast in her mouth. Marinette looked down to the ground. “You made me drop my breakfast!” 

“Sorry!” Alec apologized again. “Why were you even eating it like that? You look like a fucking anime character.” 

Marinette crossed her arms and turned her nose up. “I don’t have to tell you that.” Alec laughed like he had just seen the funniest thing ever. After a few seconds Marinette joined Alec, giggling at her own behaviour.

Alec shook his head, still laughing. “We should get to school. Don’t wanna be late!” he exclaimed. “I have a _reputation_ to uphold of being an early riser, and I want to keep it.” Alec puffed out his chest and pointed to himself with his thumb. Marinette snorted and nodded in agreement.

“Well I don’t want to be the reason you lose your _reputation_ , so let’s go!” she giggled. Alec smirked and, in a show of speed that was surprising, dashed off. Marinette shouted an offended “Hey! Wait up!” and ran after him.

Once Marinette finally caught up with him the two began idly talking about this and that. Alec complaining about how Andre had chosen a song called “Megalovania” for his final project and wouldn’t stop playing it. Stating that “If I have to hear that song one more time I swear to the Gods that abandoned me long ago I will kill him!” Marinette, having no idea what “Megalovania” was, asked for further details, but was only answered with, “Trust me you don’t wanna know.”

Marinette trusted him and changed the subject to something else. The two idly chattered as they walked to school, barely noticing that they were already at the school until they were in the courtyard.

 “Oh, we’re here!” Alec announced. Marinette looked around the courtyard, noticing the eerie lack of students. The ones that were there were just mindlessly standing around. Alec noticed this too, judging by the look on his face. The two shared a look and quickly walked over to the locker area, where there were next to no one as well. “Something’s wrong,” Alec firmly stated. “There are usually way more people than there are right now. I don’t think all those students would just not show up at their usual time all of a sudden.”

“You’re right. It’s the same thing here! Even though I’m usually late, the few times I’m not there are a bunch of people lingering in here,” Marinette added. Alec leaned back on a random locker, hand covering his mouth in thought. Suddenly he snapped his fingers.

“I have an idea!” he said. “I’ll go see where everyone went and you stay here and wait for more people to show up!” Marinette looked at him weird. “What? I never said it was a good idea. Just trust me on this Nette, this’ll be a piece of ca-”

“Nette? Alec are you replacing me?” a voice interrupted him. Alec yelped and turned around quickly, Marinette leaned to the side so she could get a better look at the owner of the voice. The person was a girl with red eyes, white hair in a bun, unusually pale skin, and glasses.

“Oh, hi Antoinette! How was the competition?” Alec asked. 

The girl, Antoinette, shrugged. “Good. I got 1st place,” she answered. Antoinette looked at Marinette. “Who’s this?”

“I’m Marinette Dupain-Cheng. It’s nice to meet you!” Marinette introduced herself, putting her hand out for a handshake.

Antoinette looked at her hand for a minute. “Antoinette Maelstrom, I’m a Baton twirler. Alec’s nickname for me is Nette-” The girl took Marinette’s hand. “I’m also albino, if you were wondering,” she added awkwardly

“It’s nice to meet you Antoinette!” Marinette smiled. Antoinette smiled back, albeit hesitantly.

Alec smiled, happy that his two friends were getting along. “Sorry to interrupt this beautiful moment, but I’m gonna go look for any signs of life in this school besides us. See ya!” Alec saluted the two and left the room.

“What’s he talking about?” Antoinette asked as soon as he was out the door.

“Oh, when we walked in we noticed that there was almost no one here even though it’s not that early,” Marinette explained. “Didn’t you notice something was off?”

Antoinette shook her head. “No, I get here when the school opens for Baton practice, it ends 30 minutes before classes start so we have time to change. So, I usually don’t have much time to pay attention to other students.”

“But the school opens at 5! Are you saying you have baton practice for….” Marinette thought for a moment. “2 and a half hours!?”

Antoinette nodded. “A small price to pay for success,” she said. “We didn’t have practice today, so that’s why I’m here.”

“Oh, ok.” Marinette sat down on a bench, Antoinette did as well. “What’s it like? Baton practice, I mean.” 

Antoinette looked happy that someone wanted to know more about her passion. “Well….”

* * *

 

Alec sighed. Another classroom with no one in it, making it 5 empty classes. Alec slowly trudged to the next classroom. As he opened the door so did someone else. The two people ran into each other and landed on the floor. “Sorry!” Alec apologized. He looked up and saw who he had ran into. “Oh, hey Mei!”

“Hi Alec!” the girl greeted the boy as she got up. “What’s up? You aren’t in this class first period.”

“Oh, uhm…” Alec debated how to explain what he was doing. “Well, I found it strange that there were little to no people in the courtyard when Marinette and I got here, so I came looking for more people. You’re the first other person I’ve seen besides Marinette and Antoinette.”

Mei thought for a moment. “Now that I think about it…. I haven’t seen anyone besides Celeste since I got here.”

This piqued Alec’s interest. “Celeste is here?” he asked.

Mei nodded. “Yep. I ran into her in the locker room, but she didn’t say anything to me. Just nodded at me.” she told him. “I think I saw Seth somewhere, but there’s something off about him. I just don’t know how to explain it.”

“Do you know where they are?” Alec asked.

Mei shook her head and Alec sighed. “Wanna go look for them?” Mei asked.

“Sure.” Alec agreed. The duo took off, looking in every nook and cranny they could find for the twins, but found no one. Just as they were about to give up, Alec spotted them.

“Hey! Seth! Celeste!” Alec called out to them. When the duo turned around Alec was hit by a sense of foreboding. _This is probably what Mei was talking about._ Alec thought.

“Hello Alec, Mei.” Celeste greeted the duo with the same monotonous voice she had yesterday. 

“Hey guys.” Seth waved, a smile on his face. Alec looked at Seth closely and noticed there was definitely something off about him. First of all, Seth’s eyes were purple and not the usually red. Second of all, he was taller than Celeste, who had always been a few inches taller out of the two. And yes, while Seth could’ve just had a growth spurt Alec found it odd that he would grow that much over night.

“So Seth, how was the party?” Mei asked the twin.

Seth smiled brightly. “It was great!” he said excitedly. “You should’ve been there.”

Alec shrugged. “Eh, we already had something planned y’know?”

Seth frowned. “You couldn’t just cancel?” he asked.

“It would be rude to cancel on someone you just met,” Alec answered. Seth cocked his eyebrow, obviously confused. “Me and Shelly met a girl, Marinette Dupain-Cheng, during an akuma attack. I’m sure you’ve heard of her.”

“Yeah I’ve heard of her. Designed for Jagged Stone right?” Seth asked.

“Yep! Impressive right?” Mei asked.

Seth nodded. “Very. Do you think I could meet her?”

Alec shrugged. “I don’t see why not. She’s in the locker room right now. Wanna meet her?” asked the boy. Alec scolded himself, knowing that he probably shouldn’t be introducing Seth to Marinette when he was getting such a bad feeling from the twin.

“Of course! Before we go though, can I talk to you two? In private, I mean.” Seth asked the duo. Mei and Alec looked at each other, unsure if they should take the twin’s request. But, they did. The trio walked past Celeste, who had been uncharacteristically quiet the entire conversation and was just standing there, and into an empty room. Seth closed the door behind them.

Neither of them noticed the evil look on Seth’s face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoy this chapter! Antoinette and Alec are good bbys. Don't worry, Shelly will show up next chapter and continue to be a BAMF.


End file.
